Wang Qixi (second from left) has a photo taken with DEVNET General Director Daniel Barrion (second from right) at the Expo DEVNET Pavilion.

Three paintings by Wang Qixi, a well-known artist, have been chosen by the DEVNET Pavilion as exhibits for the Expo.

UN DEVNET General Director Daniel Barrion, together with Gao Guoqiang, chief representative of the DEVNET Pavilion, enjoyed the paintings, saying that they will add color to the pavilion.

It is a continuation of the display of his works at the Shanghai Fine Jewellery and Art Fair, which closed on May 23, said Huang Pengren, one of China's top 10 event planners.

"As the fair's only Chinese painter, Wang's paintings won high praise from artists and visitors from home and abroad," Huang said.

Wang Qixi, a well-known Chinese painter, works on a wash painting at his studio.

He said the three paintings for the Expo were chosen from more than 5,000 works Wang has completed in the past 30 years, aimed at letting more people know about Chinese culture.

Wang, born in Henan province in 1941, has been interested in painting art since he was young. He toured the country's mountains and rivers to draw as much inspiration as he could from the natural scenes for his future creations.

"I have put my love of nature into my wash paintings, to try to inspire people's respect for it," said Wang.

Huang said the painter has gone around the country visiting traditional Chinese painting masters to learn from their skills.

"Their guidance helped me lay a solid foundation for my future painting career," Wang said.

Wang has a strong will for the artistic creation, which keeps him away from the money-oriented side of painting.

"Many people urged me to draw for money rather than just for my own collection," Wang said, adding that some of his students have become millionaires.

His strenuous effort has borne fruit to more than 5,000 paintings in 10 series with the themes of universal creations, man's harmony with nature, sages of the Chinese nation and so on, Huang said.

Wang said his plan is to cooperate with the Sanlian Bookstore to publish an album of his paintings to let more fans enjoy his work.

"Meanwhile, I will itinerate my paintings in Southeast Asia as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan after the Expo to set up a foundation with the funds collected from auctions," he said.

"The money will be used to build Hope primary schools in poverty-stricken areas to let more children learn knowledge and the arts," he said.